Social Media · alternatives
Alternatives to Facebook
20 social media tools sit alongside Facebook in this directory. Below is what separates each from Facebook on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 7
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Facebook starts at
- Free
Why people look past Facebook
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Facebook entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
Facebook publishes a single plan, Free at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Meta's standalone messaging app for Facebook, with end to end encryption on by default since 2023
- Sold on a Free, funded by Meta's advertising business model rather than Free, funded entirely by targeted advertising.
The renamed and restructured Twitter, now merged into Elon Musks xAI, with paid verification and metered API access
- Sold on a Free to use, paid X Premium tiers and metered developer API model rather than Free, funded entirely by targeted advertising.
- 3 tiers to Facebook's 1.
Visual discovery and bookmarking platform monetised through advertising and shopping links, run as an independent public company
- Sold on a Free for users, advertising revenue from businesses model rather than Free, funded entirely by targeted advertising.
Blogging and fandom platform owned by Automattic after being sold off by Verizon for a fraction of what Yahoo paid for it
- Sold on a Free to use, optional ad-free subscription and paid post promotion model rather than Free, funded entirely by targeted advertising.
- 2 tiers to Facebook's 1.
Pinterest and Instagram marketing platform for scheduling and keyword research
- Publishes an entry price of $11.99/month, where Facebook does not.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than Free, funded entirely by targeted advertising.
- 4 tiers to Facebook's 1.
All-in-one platform to plan, publish, and analyze social media content
- Publishes an entry price of $20/month, where Facebook does not.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than Free, funded entirely by targeted advertising.
- 3 tiers to Facebook's 1.
Every Facebook alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook (this page) | Free | Free, funded entirely by targeted advertising | 1 | |
| MessengerIf you want the standalone chat app rather than the main social feed | Free | Free, funded by Meta's advertising business | 1 | vs Facebook |
| X | Free | Free to use, paid X Premium tiers and metered developer API | 3 | vs Facebook |
| Free | Free for users, advertising revenue from businesses | 1 | vs Facebook | |
| Tumblr | Free | Free to use, optional ad-free subscription and paid post promotion | 2 | vs Facebook |
| Tailwind | Free, then $11.99/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Facebook |
| Metricool | Free, then $20/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Facebook |
| Mention | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs Facebook |
| YouScan | $499/month | Per month by mention volume and search topics | 2 | vs Facebook |
| Synthesio | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Facebook |
| Rival IQ | $239/month | Per month by tracked company count | 3 | vs Facebook |
| Statusbrew | $69/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs Facebook |
| Determ | €99/month | Per month by topic and mention volume | 4 | vs Facebook |
| Brand24 | $199/month | Per month by mention volume | 5 | vs Facebook |
| Awario | $29/month | Per month by mention volume | 3 | vs Facebook |
| Khoros | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Facebook |
| Sked Social | $24/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Facebook |
| Planoly | $14/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Facebook |
| SocialBee | $29/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Facebook |
| Sendible | $1/month | Subscription | 5 | vs Facebook |
| Talkwalker | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs Facebook |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Facebook badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Facebook is most often brought in for staying connected with a broad network of friends and family through a shared feed, buying and selling locally through marketplace, joining groups organised around a specific interest, neighbourhood or event, following pages for local businesses, public figures or organisations. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Facebook is broadly right and the question is cost, the Facebook pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Social Media category lists everything the directory holds, and best social media tools ranks them.
Facebook runs on ios, android, web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Facebook alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Facebook?
- 20 other social media tools are listed in this directory, led by Messenger, X, Pinterest, Tumblr. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Facebook?
- 7 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Messenger, X, Pinterest, Tumblr, Tailwind.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Facebook?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Facebook?
- Facebook is most often brought in for staying connected with a broad network of friends and family through a shared feed, buying and selling locally through marketplace, joining groups organised around a specific interest, neighbourhood or event, following pages for local businesses, public figures or organisations. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Facebook?
- None of the social media tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Facebook alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Social Media, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Facebook against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Facebook covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every social media tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Social Media category, 20 tools beside Facebook. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.